Cinema 4D

Today was the first proper introduction to Cinema 4D (C4D), something I have been looking forward to exploring and testing myself to see what I am able to produce. Although a lengthy process I really enjoyed today's workshop and enjoyed learning about the programme itself and what I was able to create with little skill. I took notes from the workshop incase I want to revisit or improve my knowledge and skills in Cinema 4D.

Notes:

Starting in Adobe Illustrator to create some artwork that will then be used in Cinema 4D - it was important to change the centre of the page as C4D uses work from the centre of pages as oppose to Illustrator starting at the top left hand corner. To change this we used the ruler tool and dragged to the centre of the page. 

Next was to create the artwork itself, today we began with simple shapes, using the pathfinder tool and also adding any text. I created a simple logo design featuring my name just to test out how well I could work with multiple shapes/objects in C4D. Make sure to save the artwork as a normal illustrator file and then *ENSURE* that you save the file as an 'Illustrator 8' version. 

It is important to open files in C4D by using the 'Merge' button. Adding 'Extrude' to your artwork allows it to become 3D, here you are able to change the height and width of the object. Add text by using the 'MoGraph; MoText' option and use 'Object' to change the size, text and font style. By using a tool called 'Fillet Caps' you are able to change sharp and harsh edges, making them softer and more appealing to the eye - today we used 3cm Steps and 0.5cm Radius. 

Adding floors and backgrounds - here you can also change the colours and materials to make your logo stand out more. Double click the blank grey box to create a new material and rename it - it is usually easier to rename the material as the same colour you have chosen, that way it is easier to find. Ensure that all saturation and hue sliders are changed so you can actually see the colour. 

Shadows and Lighting - Depending on how far you drag the floor from your logo changes your shadows and lighting. Add light to your work by clicking 'Lightbulb' and imagine that it is always positioned over your left hand shoulder using these coordinates:

X = -500cm

Y = 500cm

Z = -500cm

Make sure to switch the shadows on by going to 'Lighting; General; Shadows.' Today we used two lights, the first being a lightbulb and the second being a 'Fill Light' this softens any shadows and makes them less harsh and distracting from your actual focus. Position the Fill Light:

X = 200cm

Y = 60cm

Z = -100cm

Make the intensity of this light between 60 and 70%

Render Settings - Editing the render settings is important, this ensures that the final outcome is how you wish it to be. Edit the render settings specific to the lighting added previously - add Ambient Lighting: Click Effect; Ambient and View to see if it changes - adjust as you wish. By adding the Ambient Lighting it means that time is added to your final render - in some cases isn't best for small deadlines and quicker production of logo. 

Before the final rendering ensure that the DPI is set to 300, this makes for a clear quality image at the end. Click file and save saving the logo as a JPG, ensure that you click render to picture view the logo before final render - this allows you to make any changes necessary. (First image)

Camera - adding lighting and cameras to your logo makes the work look more professional and finished. Add a camera to the logo and use the small black square to look through the lens (how viewers would look at it) Make sure that you stay clicked on the small cross otherwise your logo and other objects will move around as oppose to your viewing and angles. 

An additional step that Jay talked about was animation, this meant moving our logo to make it more interesting and imagined as if it were a client asking if designers could do more to make the logo more appealing. 

Creating a 'Null' object and add this to the camera. Animation means using 'Key Frames' and in this case in C4D use 'Radio Button' to record the animation. Make sure to change the frames to 25 FFPS and change the length to 200 frames. Change the rotation of the logo to 360 degrees and hit the key frame button again to enter the animation. 

Go to 'Window; Timeline Dopesheet; Linear' this ensures that the object/logo turns a full circle without stopping and restarting (something that C4D adds in for you) so by changing the cycle to Linear the logo doesn't stop spinning. 

When rendering the animation ensure that the DPI is set to 72 at 25 frames per rate and click 'All Frames' this allows all angles of the 360 degree spin to be rendered and viewed at the end. Change the save to MP4, hit render and you have your finished animation.

Cinema 4D from Maria Lynam on Vimeo.